BSB publishes consultation on new declaration rules for barristers

12 June 2017

The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has today published a consultation
on a new set of proposals to require barristers to declare a range
of information about their practice to the regulator every year
when applying for their practising certificate. This also includes
new and returning barristers.

If the proposals are implemented, the new declaration
requirements would start from next year.

Barristers are not currently required to declare the areas of
law in which they practise to the regulator. Obtaining accurate
information of this nature will help the BSB to understand better
the practitioners that it monitors and regulates and be more
focused and efficient in its regulation.

Today's consultation covers a number of proposals which
include:

1.Requiring barristers to declare the following:

Which areas of law they practise in; and

What portion of their income is derived from each area.

And, if the barrister is authorised for public access work:

What portion of their income is derived from public access
work.

In order to make the above as easy as possible for barristers to
declare, the BSB is proposing a very similar method of identifying
practice areas to that used by the Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund when
self-employed barristers apply for their professional indemnity
insurance.

2.Seeking views on the method for compulsory registration of
Youth Courtpractitioners.

Registration will allow the regulator to identify all
barristers who are working in proceedings involving young people
and where necessary to take steps to ensure that they have the
specialist skills, knowledge and attributes necessary to work with
young people.

3.Requiring barristers to declare whether they provide services
that engage the MoneyLaundering Regulations

The
Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds
(Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 will come into
force soon - this is expected to be Monday, 26 June 2017. The new
legislation includes a requirement for the BSB to ensure risks of
money laundering and terrorist financing are identified and
assessed in relation to those barristers undertaking work that
engages the Regulations. Therefore, barristers will need to declare
when applying for a practising certificate whether they are
undertaking, or intending in the next 12 months to undertake work
which falls within the Regulations, as outlined in the
consultation.

BSB Director of Strategy and Policy Ewen MacLeod said: "We are
keen to hear what people think about our proposals to collect
practice area information from barristers and to change our rules
about what barristers have to declare during the annual
Authorisation to Practise process. These changes will ensure that
we have a more complete picture of barristers' practices. We
consider this necessary to help us identify trends over time, to
target our regulation at areas where it is most needed, and to help
us monitor the appropriateness of barristers' Continuing
Professional Development plans."